Cutter



Nov. 23, 1954 A. GIRZ 2,695,060

CUTTER Filed May 11, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet l 4 INVENTOR.

- AooLPH G/R 2 ATTORNEYJ Nov. 23, 1954 A. GIRZ 2,595,060

7 CUTTER Filed May 11, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR. ADOLPH 6022 BY A TTORNEYS A. GIRZ CUTTER Nov. 23, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 11, 1949 INVENTOR. 2900M Gmz flrraamsrs A. GIRZ CUTTER Nov. 23, 1954 Filed May 11, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. 140041 11 G/RZ waomw ATTORNEYS of a novel finger for holding the United States Patent CUTTER Adolph Girz, Cleveland, Ohio, Company, Acme Machinery a corporation of Ohio assignor to The Hill Acme Division, Cleveland, Ohio,

This invention relates to improvements in a forging machine and more particularly to improvements in the blank cut-off and carry-over for metal working machines such as cold headers, forging machines and machines of similar character.

An object of the present invention is to provide simple and efficient mechanism for the above described purpose and adapted to operate smoothly at speeds greater than those normally met with today.

Another object of the present invention is to provide novel continuously rotating cams for moving the blank cut-off slide during the cutting operation, such positive movement of the slide stopping short of the position of the blank at the forming die, together with spring operated means for impelling the blank into its final forming position whereby damage is avoided to moving parts, and whereby a heavy slide may be recliprocated at relatively high speeds without injurious s ap.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel carry-over finger adapted to .coact with the blank as it is moved from cut-01f position to forming position and so constructed and arranged that it coacts satisfactorily with blanks of various sizes.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a carry-over finger which is mounted on the frame of the machine, which is stopped short of blank engagement at the start of blank cut-off and which is held resiliently against the blank during carry-over.

Still another object of the invention is the provision blank in position during carry-over and novel mechanism for moving the holding finger out of holding position by operation of the movable die to form the blank.

A further object of the invention is a novel arrangement for the adjustment of the relative orientation-of driving shaft parts for timing the action of the mechanism.

Other objects and advantages ofmy invention will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and description and the essential features will be set forth in the appended claims.

in the drawings, a

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a machine equipped with my invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmental sectional view of the same taken along the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Figs. 3 to 7 inclusive are diagrammatic views of certain parts of Fig. 2, showingthem in various portions of their working cycle; a 7

Fig. 8 is a fragmental sectional view enlarged taken along the line 88 of Fig.2 7

Fig. 9 is a fragmental sectional view taken along the line 99 of Fig. 8;- V

Fig. 10 is an enlarged top plan view of a coupling on la shaft seen in the right central portion of Fig. -1; whi e Figs. 11 and 12 are left and right hand end viewsrespectively of the coupling of Fig. 10.

I have chosen to show my invention as applied .to a forging or cold heading machine of the same general character as shown in United States Patent No. 2,011,106, granted August 13, 1935, to Merle W. Lamprecht, to which reference may be had for a clearer. understanding of the general machine. It will suffice to state here that a header slide or ram 20 is slidably mounted in suitable ways in the frame 21. A main shaft 22 is suitably journaled in the frame and equipped with driving and flywheel means. In the present disclosure, a large gear 23 is shown, which is keyed to the shaft 22 y means not shown and driven by means of an electric motor which is not shown. In this case the gear is heavy enough to serve as a flywheel also but obviously driving means and flywheel means might be provided separately and this would have no bearing on the present invention. The connection between the shaft 22 and ram 20 for reciprocation of the latter may Well be the sliding box or Scotch yoke of the above mentioned Lamprecht patent here indicated in broken lines at 24. Rotatable with the shaft 22 is a beveled gear 25 which meshes with another beveled gear 26 which in turn is fixed to shaft 27 which is also provided with suitable bearings in the frame 21. An adjustable coupling 28 on this shaft is provided which is more clearly shown in Figs. 10, 11 and 12 and which will be described later. The raw material to be operated upon by the machine in the present instance is a continuous length of bar or rod 29 which is gripped between pairs of rolls 30 mounted above and below the bar and driven by means of suitable mechanism in the housing 31 to feed the bar into the machine through a suitable opening 32 in the frame of the machine 21. A timing cam 33 is provided on shaft 22 and a connecting rod 34 leads from this timing cam to the mechanism in the housing 31 so as to properly time the feeding of the bar 29 with the cut-off and carry-over mechanism which will be presently described.

For providing blank cut-off and carry-over there is provided a carriage or slide 35 which is mounted for reciprocation in suitable ways in the frame 21. The general direction of movement of the slide 35 is at right angles to the general direction of reciprocation of the ram 20. The slide 35 has vertical side walls 35a which are cut away as shown at 36 in Fig. 2 to permit the entrance of shaft 27. At the left hand end of the slide 35 as viewed in Figs. 1 and 2 there is mounted a movable cut-off or shear blade 37 which is suitably mounted in a bracket 38 which is secured to the slide 35 by means of bolts 39. The cut-off blade 37 is firmly clamped in the bracket by means of set screws 40 and suitable means (not shown) is provided for making fine adjustments of the cutting blade 37 toward and away from the blank to be cut, to take care of wear and similar slight adjustments. The stationary cut-off or shear element comprises a hardened steel block 41 which is properly set in the end wall of the frame 21. A fixed stop 42 which is shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is positioned in line with the movement of the raw material 29 so as to limit the movement of the same when it is fed into the machine so as to expose a portion 29a which is the portion to be cut oif to form the blank which serves to form the piece to be forged. The holding means 43 for the stop 42 is fixed on the frame 21 of the machine and is shown in Fig. 2 but omitted in Fig. 1 for clearness.

Novel means is provided for reciprocating the slide 35. Rotatable with the shaft 27 is a shaft 44 which is hollow and fits over the shaft 27 and is held in position by the adjustable coupling 28 in a manner to be later described. Fixed on the shaft portion 44 are a pair of cams 45 and 46. These two cams rotate with the shaft 44 but do not move relative to each other. They may be formed as a single composite cam or may e formed as two cams and rigidly secured together. Roller followers 47 and 48 are rotatably mounted in the vertical side walls 35a of the slide 35. The cam 45 engages the follower 47 and the cam 46 engages the follower 48 as clearly shown in Fig. 1. A heavy spring 9 is housed in a cap 50 which is adjustably mounted in frame21. A boss or projection 51 holds the spring in proper position against the right hand end of slide 35 as clearly shown in Figs. 1 and 2. This spring at all times holds the follower 48 in engagement with the cam 46 as will presently appear. The reciprocation of slide 35 is. sutficient to carry the cut-off blade 37 from the position of Fig. 3, where it is about to begin to cut oif the blank 29a, to a position shown in Fig. 6 where the blank 29a has been carried to a position in front of a fixed forming die 52 which is suitably mounted in the frame 21 horizontally and vertically opposite a movable die 53 which is suitably mounted in the end of the ram 20.

The complete cycle of the cams 45 and 46 in driving the slide 35 throughone complete operationis diagrammatically shown in Figs. 3 to] inclusive. The cams are turned by means of shafts 27' and 44 'n the direction of the arrows of the various views. In Fig. 3, a blank 29a is resting against thestop' 42 and the cut-off blade 37 is in a position to begin a cut. The face 45a of cam 45 engages the follower 47 while moving from the position of Fig. 3 to Fig. 4 to completely cut through the blank 29a by means of the cut-off blade 37 The positive drive of slide 35 and follower 47 by means of the cam 45' stops at about the point indicated in Fig. 4. Slightly furthe inovement of the cams as indicated in Fig. 5 has c%efd the slide or carriage 35 to be moved toward the le under the influence of spring 49 and limited by the engagement of follower 48 against the cam 46. This action continues as the follower 48 moves down the face 46a of the cam 46 from the position of Fig. 5 to the position of Fig. 6 In this latter position, the blank 29a has been carried to a position in front of the forming die 52 by the cut-off blade 37. As the cams continue to turn from the position of Fig. 6 to the position of Fig. 7, the cam face 46b acting against the follower 48 moves the slide or carriage 35 toward the right until the carriage 35' andcut-off blade 37 are again in the position of Fig. 3 ready for another cut-off operation. rotation of the earns 45 and 46 from the position of Fig. 7 to the position of Fig. 3. During this l80, the arcuate portion 45c of cam 45 is in engagement with the follower 47 and the arcuate portion 46c of the cam 46 is in engagement with the follower 48. Thus, there is no lateral movement of the carriage 35 during the movement of the cams from the position of Fig. 7 to the position of Fig. 3. It is during this intermission that the connections- 33, 34, 31 and of Fig. 1 move the raw material 29 so as to extend the bar through the die or shear element 41 against the stop 42 to position a blank 29a ready for the next operation.

The machine disclosedis arranged to form steel balls of the type u ed in ball mills utilizing hemispherical dies 52 and 53. Suitable openings are indicated on Fig. l at 522i and 53a for" the operation of knockout pins for pushing the steel ball out of the dies after it is formed. The mechanism for operating t'h'ese knockout pins 15 not shown as it' for'ms no part of the present invention. Obviously, if these pins fail to knock the formed ball out of the if for any other reason there is resistance to the forward movement of sl id'e35 toward the left as viewed in Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive, there will be no damage to the parts,

because after the bl'anl't'iscompletely out as shown in Fig. 4, further movement ofthe slide or carriage is impelled by the spring 49. If solid parts get in the way of the slidemov'ement, no damage is done because the resilient spring 49 will prevent any harm.

Furthermore, the slide 35 in my machine for working on blank sizes up to one and one-half inches in diameter, weighs about two hundred and sixty pounds and this weight could not be positively reciprocated in opposite directions by pos'i't'i'yecafns' without considerable slap. The construction of earns 45 and 46 and the followers 47 and 48, with the spring 49 continuously causing engagement of follower 48' with cam 46, gives a smooth movement of the slide with a machine turning over at one hundred and thirty fi-ve revolutions per minute whereas previous machines of this type usually do not run over one hundred revolutions per minute.

Novel means is provided for holding the blank 29a against the cut-off blade 37 as the blank is carried from the position of Fig. 3 to the position of Fig. 6 in front of the forming dies. This means is clearly shown in Figs. 2, 8 and 9' but has been omitted from Fig. 1 for clear'ness. A finger 54 is pivotally mounted for oscillating movement in a plane extending laterally of the machine, that is, at right angles to the direction of reciprocation of the ram 20, and freely movable in a limited direction vertically. On one side of the finger 54 there is rigidly mounted a U-shape hook 55 which opens downwardly. One leg of this hook is secured to the finger 54 by bolts or other rigid securing means. The hook 55 extends over a pivot pin 56 which is mounted in a fixed bracket 57 for vertical adjustment. The ad- It will be noted that there is approximately 180 dies; or if a cobble is formed, or

instability is provided by means of a slot 58 in the bracket 57 through which extends the stud bolt' 59'. A spring 60 extending to a fixe'd point on the frame from the upper end of finger 54, biases the lower end of the finger 54 toward the blank 29a. A spring 61 extending from bolt 62 to bolt 40 biases the finger 54 and hook 55 downwardly and toward the right as viewed in Fig. 2. A stop 63 adjustably mounted on the frame of the machine limits the movement of the lower end of finger 54 toward the blank 29a as shown in Fig. 2. Preferably, the stop 63 is so positioned that the lower end of finger 54 does not engage the blank 29a as it comes through the die 41 preliminary to being cut. This insures that the blank does not hit the finger 54 as it moves inwardly to engage the stop 42.

It should be apparent from the above description, that the finger 54 holds the blank 29a resiliently in the jaws of the cut-off blade 37 immediately after the blank is out and will maintain this position as the blank is carried from the position of Fig. 3' to the position of Fig. 6 opposite the forming dies. Means is provided for automatically lifting the finger 54 out of the way as the forming dies close when the ram 20 moves the movable die 53 toward the fixed die' 52. As shown somewhat diagrammatically in Fig. 8, the lower end of finger 54 is curved as shown at 5411 in a plane at right angles to the plane of the movement of the cut-off blade 37. The movable die 53', or a part associated therewith has an upper nose portion 53b curved to cooperate with the curved part 54a of the finger to move the finger vertically upwardly as the fixed forming die is approached by the movable forming die. This action moves the lower end of the finger 54 from the full line position shown in Fig. 8 to the dot-dash position shown there at the moment the forming dies are closing. As soon as the lower end of the finger 54 is clear of obstruction, the springs 60 and 61 cause the finger to jump back to the position shown in Fig. 2 ready for the next operation. The stop 63 limits this movement. The spring 61 keeps the hook 55 from jumping off the pivot pin 56 as this return movement of 54 takes place.

I indicated that the novel connection 28 between shaft 27 and shaft 44 was for the purpose of timing the parts of the machine. This is particularly necessary when it is realized that the "blanks worked upon may vary considerably in length and therefore the movement of the slide 35 must be timed accordingly. As shown in Figs. 10, ll and 12, the shaft 27 has an end portion of smaller diameter which passes through the hollow shaft 44. Where the two shafts meet, each is provided with its respective flange 27a and 44a. Bolts 64 secure these flanges together. These bolts are adiustable in the slots 65 and this adjustability is positively limited and controlled by means of a composite wedge 66. This wedge has a portion 66a which fits snugly in a recess 67 in flange 27a and is held therein by a stud bolt 68. The wedge also has a portion 66b which fits loosely in a recess 69 in the flange 4411. By varying the wedges 70 and 71 which fill in the recess 69 on one or both sides of the wedge portion 6611, the orientation of shaft portion 44 relative to shaft 27 may be controlled in a very positive manner and so that there is no lost motion between these two shafts. This allows for the proper timing of the movement of the slide or carriage 35.

What I claim is:

1. In a blank cut-off and carry-over device whereina movable cut-on blade having a jaw open toward the direction of carry-over movement reciprocates horizontally for carry-over of ablank from a cut-off station to a forming station, the combination therewith of a finger having a fixed pivotal mounting above said blade reciprocation path, the lower end of said finger being nositioned to engage a blank in said jaw, means biasing the lower end of said finger toward said iaw, a hook rigid with said finger and opening downwardly, said hook embracing said pivotal mounting and slidable upwardly and downwardly relative thereto, said upward movement being sufficient to release the lower end of said finger from a blank, and means biasing said finger downwardly.

2. In a forging machine or the like wherein a metal blank is cut off and then carried to a forming station, and wherein a reciprocating slide has a cut-off blade operable during the initial portion of advance movement of said slide toward said forming station to cut a blank from stock, and said advance movement of said slide being adapted to carry said blank to said forming station; the combination therewith of front and rear followers mounted on said slide, said slide mounted for horizontal reciprocation in said machine forward for cut-off and backward on the return stroke, cut-01f and return cams in fixed relation to each other and engaging said front and rear followers respectively, means for continuously rotating said cams in the same direction, spring means engaged between a fixed portion of said machine and said slide urging said slide forward, said cut-01f cam having an active portion engaging its associated follower to drive said slide through blank cut-off position only, said return cam having a cutaway portion permitting said spring means to advance said slide from cut-01f position to blankforming position, said return cam having a slide-returning active portion immediately following said cutaway portion for returning said slide to its rearmost position, and both cams having dwell portions immediately following said slide-returning portion of said return cam.

3. In a forging machine or the like wherein a metal blank is cut off and then carried to a forming station, and wherein a reciprocating slide has a cut-01f blade operable during the initial portion of advance movement of said slide toward said forming station to cut a blank from stock, and said advance movement of said slide being adapted to carry said blank to said forming station; the combination therewith of positively acting means operatively connected with said slide for driving said slide through said initial portion of its advance movement until said blank is cut, a fixed abutment in said machine, and spring means stressed between said abutment and said slide and urging said slide in the direction of its advance movement for completing said advance movement of said slide after said blank is cut, the path of slide and cut-oft" blade reciprocation and the lines of force exerted by said positive actuating means and said spring means on said slide generally coinciding so that machine rigidity is a maximum.

4. In a forging machine or the like wherein a metal blank is out 01f and then carried to a forming station, and wherein a reciprocating slide has a cut-off blade operable during the initial portion of advance movement of said slide toward said forming station to cut a blank from stock, and said advance movement of said slide being adapted to carry said blank to said forming station; the combination therewith of a hollowed out portion in said slide, positively acting means continuously rotating in one direction within said hollowed out portion and operatively connected with said slide on one side of said hollowed out portion for driving said slide through said initial portion of its advance movement until said blank is cut, a fixed abutment in said machine, and spring means stressed between said abutment and said slide and urging said slide in the direction of its advance 6 movement for completing said advance movement of said slide after said blank is cut, said positively acting means being operatively connected with said slide on the opposlitg side of said hollowed out portion for returning said s 1 e.

5. In a forging machine or the like wherein a stock feeder feeds metal stock into the machine, wherein a metal blank is cut off and then carried to a forming station, and wherein a reciprocating slide has a cut-off blade operable during the initial portion of advance movement of said slide toward said forming station to cut a blank from stock, and said advance movement of said slide being adapted to carry said blank to said forming station; the combination therewith of positively acting means operatively connected with said slide for driving said slide through said initial portion of its advance movement until said blank is cut and for returning said slide to its original position after completion of said advance movement, a fixed abutment in said machine, spring means stressed between said abutment and said slide and urging said slide in the direction of its advance movement for completing said advance movement of said slide after said blank is cut, and a timing means for adjusting the timing between said slide and stock feeder with said timing means drivingly connecting together said positive acting means and stock feeder.

6. A machine, as set forth in claim 5, wherein said timing means includes portions on aligned and abutting shafts with a radially extending recess cut into the periphery of one of said abutting shaft portions, a key fixed with the other of said shaft portions and having a shoulder extending into said recess, and a filler block fitting snugly between the wall of said recess and at least one side of said shoulder, whereby to hold a relative orientation between said abutting shaft portions, and whereby filler blocks may be varied on either or both sides of said shoulder to vary said orientation.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,244,912 Smith Oct. 30, 1917 1,299,115 Brennan Apr. 1, 1919 1,337,908 Hemfree et al. Apr. 20, 1920 1,348,892 Pierson Aug. 10, 1920 1,478,356 Petitjean Dec. 18, 1923 1,569,895 Svensson et al. Jan. 19, 1926 1,857,997 Brennan May 10, 1932 1,897,359 Brennan Feb. 14, 1933 1,989,398 Brennan Jan. 29, 1935 2,132,853 Kearney Oct. 11, 1938 2,265,428 Hogue Dec. 9, 1941 2,565,883 Praeg Aug. 28, 1951 

